


A taste of what you paid for

by quafflerain1044



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pre-Apocalypse, Awkward! Daryl Dixon, Daryl being a sweetheart, F/M, Merle being Merle, POV Daryl Dixon, Shy! Daryl, Stripper!Reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 22:55:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17671679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quafflerain1044/pseuds/quafflerain1044
Summary: It's Daryls 18th birthday and Merle's got him a birthday present. Merle being Merle, the present is a little inappropriate and Daryl ends up out of his comfort zone with you.There's nothing wrong with just a taste of what you paid for.





	A taste of what you paid for

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by Panic! at the Disco's "But it's better if you do", "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" and "Build God, then we'll talk". Enjoy!

“Wake up lil’ bro, it’s your birthday” Daryl slowly opened his eyes and blinked the sleep away to find his brother perched on the doorframe of his bedroom. Merle was standing with his arms crossed and his trademark shit-eating grin on his face.

“Wha’s it matter?” Daryl said. He had never been much of a birthday enthusiast. He had never had a reason to get excited about his birthdays in all his life, even less so after the death of his mother. He supposed it wasn’t normal, considering this was his 18th birthday and every teenager was supposed to be excited about this specific birthday. He didn’t feel anything though, this only meant that if he was caught doing something wrong with his brother, now he’d get thrown to jail instead of juvie. That wasn’t really something to be excited about.

“Well, I got you a little present” Merle said and Daryl lifted his eyebrows in surprise at that.

“The fuck ya mean?” Daryl asked, walking past Merle out of his room and looking around the small house. He didn’t see his old man around so he assumed he just hadn’t come home from the bar all night.

“Oh you’ll see little brother, you’ll see” Merle winked and clapped him in the back. “Now, it’s a bit early for it yet so what do you say we hit the woods for a bit? See if we can catch your birthday dinner ‘fore the old man comes back home?”

Daryl nodded, confused about his brother’s intentions. Wondering what kind of a present could it be if he couldn’t give it to him yet. Coming from the older Dixon though, it couldn’t be anything he’d actually like.

Daryl walked out of the house as he grabbed his old crossbow from where it was resting down on the floor next to the door.

Their morning and most of the afternoon was spent with Daryl trying to track something in the woods and Merle talking loud enough to scare off anything that might be walking around. Daryl liked having his brother around, it was better than having to live alone with his father and being the only target for his uncontrollable fury.

When he went into the woods to hunt though, Daryl couldn’t wish for anything else than for his brother to disappear. Merle had never been a silent person, he was loud in every sense of the word. His presence screamed to be acknowledge and not in the most pleasant ways. Daryl rolled his eyes as Merle started telling yet another dumb story. He sighed, resigning himself to the fact that he wouldn’t catch anything with his brother there with him.

“So little brother, what are you gonna do now?” Merle asked him as they made their way back to the house.

“’Bout what?” he asked, chewing on his thumbnail.

“Well, you’re 18 now, you can take off any time you want” Merle asked with a smile on his face, Daryl looked at him and saw a little bit of hesitation in his brother’s eyes.

“Nah” Daryl said with a shrug of his shoulders, adjusting the strap of the crossbow, “there ain’t nothing for me out there”

“That’s what you say now, just wait ‘till you meet a hot piece of ass and run off with her” Merle said, that stupid smirk on his face again. Against his better judgement, Daryl let out a small chuckle at that.

The brothers made their way back to their small, rundown house. It was almost sunset by then and Merle decided it was time to get started on the celebration as he grabbed two cans of beer from the fridge and threw one at Daryl, who caught it with both hands.

“Time for your present, little bro” Merle said, raising his beer as if toasting.

“Your present is old beer from the fridge?” Daryl asked, opening his can too and taking a few sips.

“Nah, that’s just to get you started” Merle said, chugging the entire beer at once and throwing the can on the counter. “Let’s go”

“Where?” Daryl asked once again, a bit irritated at his brother’s lack of consistent answers. What was with all the mystery?

“You ask too many questions little bro, curiosity killed the cat, remember?” Merle said, walking out again and climbing into his truck. Daryl bit his thumbnail once again and considered his options. He could always just tell Merle to fuck off and go back to the woods. He was curious though and something in the back of his mind told him that he had to go. He grabbed his old leather jacket and got out of the house, climbing into the beat up truck.

He grabbed the pack of cigarettes his brother kept on the glove compartment and lit one up, blowing the smoke out through the open window. Daryl wanted to ask once again where they were headed but knew he wouldn’t get the answer he wanted so he just shut his mouth and continued to smoke.

When Merle parked the truck, they had been driving for around 20 minutes and they were on the outskirts of the town they lived in, on the opposite end of where they lived. Daryl looked around and could see a one story building, all the windows were covered so he couldn’t see anything from the outside. He saw two muscled men sitting on stools outside and that was all the information he needed before he looked at his brother, a mix of embarrassment and anger in his face as he realized where they were.

“I ain’t going in there” Daryl said, Merle scoffed.

“What’s the matter little bro? Scared of watching some tiddies?” Merle asked with that tone he used to demean people. Daryl wanted to punch him in the face.

“I ain’t scared o’ nothing” Daryl said, “just don’t wanna be in a hooker house with a bunch o’ horny old men”

“Well then, your problem” Merle said, stepping out of the truck and starting to walk away, “Hope you don’t mind me using the money on myself then”

Daryl squirmed on his seat as he watched his brother walk towards the entrance of the place and flipping the guards off as he walked inside. He took a deep breath and decided that he had to follow his brother, if not to see what was inside to at least keep his brother from getting himself in a fight.

Walking into the place he felt the combination of perfume, cologne, smoke and alcohol all mixed up like a slap on the face. The place was dimly lit and painted in dark tones of red, combined with heavy red velvet curtains that kept the lights from the outside away. The room was big, filled with small round tables all around a stage from which a catwalk came out to the middle of the room. Four poles were installed in which four women were dancing provocatively to the cheers of the men on the audience. There was a bar on the opposite end and some women tending it very scantily clad. Daryl could see his brother sitting on a stool there looking at the stage and shouting some lewd comments at the women on the stage so he walked up to him.

“Hey, I see you came to have some fun little bro!” Merle shouted when he saw him approach and clapped him on the back. Daryl just grunted a reply and sat down next to his brother. “Give my brother here a beer sweetheart, it’s his birthday” he shouted back at the woman tending the bar. She nodded and brought him a beer.

“Happy birthday” she said with a smile, “this one’s on the house” she winked and Daryl blushed a bit, looking anywhere but at her, he nodded as a way of thanks and started drinking his beer.

“Well, little brother? See anything you like?” Merle asked from next to him and he shrugged, “aw come on! Lighten up, there are some really sweet asses ‘round here” Merle rolled his eyes at his brother’s lack of enthusiasm and walked away. Daryl was a little relieved at his brother’s absence, looking up to see that the bartender was looking at him with a curious look on her face.

“Doesn’t seem like you’re enjoying the place so much” she said as she scrubbed a glass with a dishcloth.

“’S more like my brother” he said with a shrug and she nodded in understanding, smiling.

“Well, you’re already here and if the look your brother is giving to some of my coworkers is anything to go by, I don’t think you’re leaving soon” she said, nodding towards where Merle was, sitting in front of the stage and looking like he was about to climb on stage and take the dancer right there. Daryl smirked at that and looked back at the bartender, “so you should try to have a little bit of fun”

Daryl shrugged and concentrated on his beer once again, he looked at the girl once again. She couldn’t be much older than him, early 20’s maybe. She had a very pretty face, her hair cascading down her shoulders and marking her face perfectly. Her eyes shone with sweetness and he wondered what a girl like that was doing in a place like this. His eyes inevitably traveled down to her body and he gulped hard as he felt his body begin to stir. She had a really nice and toned body, perfectly balanced. She looked amazing in her black two piece, the belt on her waist shaping her body and making her hips stand out.

He looked up and saw her looking at him, a playful smile on her face as she cocked her eyebrow at him. He cleared his throat and looked away, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

“Daryl?” a feminine voice asked from his left side and he looked around to find another one of the girls talking to him, “your brother sent me, I’m your gift” she said with an innocent smile that looked entirely out of place considering the place and her outfit.

He felt really awkward as he was dragged by the hand towards one of the rooms on the back of the place, looking back at the girl at the bar, who just smiled apologetically at him as he disappeared behind the curtains into the room.

“Well, what do you like, Daryl?” she asked as she led him towards the couch that was against one of the walls of the small room. “You can touch, but no sex is allowed” she said and his cheeks turned red once again, he had no idea what to respond and so he kept his mouth shut.

The awkward silence was interrupted as the curtains opened and a familiar face poked her head inside.

“Cheryl, sweetie, can I talk to you outside for a sec?” it was the bartender, the girl on top of Daryl –Cheryl- got up and walked towards the curtains once again, leaving Daryl behind, who exhaled loud in relief. He closed his eyes and dropped his head down on the back of the couch, cursing at Merle under his breath for putting him in this situation.

“You look really uncomfortable” the bartender’s voice said from in front of him and he opened his eyes to see her standing in front of him once again. She was smiling down at him and he grunted as a way of responding, “Well, your brother is very generous, he paid for a full hour”

“Fuckin’ Merle” Daryl muttered under his breath and she chuckled, dragging a chair from the opposite side of the room and taking a seat in front of Daryl. “What happened to the other girl?”

“Told her I’d cover this one for her,” she said, with half a smile on her face, “I can call her back if you’d rather be with her than me though. But I thought this could be a good excuse for a break, considering you don’t look like you’re too eager about getting a lap dance”

She stood up and was about to walk away as he grabbed her by the wrist, “Stay” he asked and she smiled down at him and nodded. She took a seat once again in front of him and crossed her legs. “What’s your name?” he asked after a minute of awkward silence.

“(Y/N)” she answered and he nodded.

“I’m-”

“Daryl” she completed and he nodded, feeling a blush creep up his cheeks again. “I heard it when Cheryl went to grab you”

“Why do you work here?” he asked suddenly and felt stupid as soon as the question left his mouth.

She chuckled at his awkwardness and considered her answer for a minute, “Well, my college tuition isn’t gonna pay itself and the tips here are better than at a regular waitressing job so here I am” she shrugged and he nodded in understanding, starting to bite his thumbnail once again. “What do you usually do? When you’re not being dragged into strip clubs by your brother” she asked.

“I hunt most of the time, try to keep Merle outta jail” he said, looking at her.

“Shouldn’t you be going to school?” she asked, her head inclined like a puppy. He smiled at her and shook his head.

“Nah, school never did anything for me so I just stopped going after a while” he said, “I learn most o’ what I do by working myself”

“And what do you know how to do, besides hunting?” she asked with a smirk on her face.

“How to fix cars and bikes, I’ve worked in garages and stuff with Merle but he always ends up getting in trouble and we end up being kicked out” he shrugged. She pressed her lips together and looked like she wanted to say something but kept it to herself. “He’s a good guy though, just has a loud mouth and a short temper”, he felt as if he had to defend his brother, he was his only family who actually cared a shit about him, as much of an asshole as he might be.

“I’m sure he is” she answered, not fully believing it.

They talked for a while more, about what she wanted to do in college and what he’d like to do. About their interests and how their lives had been so far. She came from a family that wasn’t much different from his, so she understood what it felt like to have the shadow of your family’s reputation held over your head like a bag of trash.

There was a weird connection between them and without noticing, they had ended up both sitting in the couch, arms and legs slightly touching as they talked. The hour was up before they noticed.

“Time’s up” said a male voice from the other side of the curtain and she sighed, standing up from the couch.

“Well, time to go back to work” she said as she extended her hand to him and he took it, no longer feeling awkward around this girl, she suddenly stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek that was dangerously close to his lips. He was left with a tingling sensation all over his body, “happy birthday, Daryl Dixon”

She waltzed out of the room and he was left standing, looking after her with a smile on his face. He shook his head and walked out of the room, that same smile plastered on his face as he walked back towards his brother. He looked around and saw that she was back at her spot at the bar.

“What’d I say little bro? Was it a good one or nah?” Merle asked from where he was, sitting on a table in front of the stage and not taking his eyes off the dancing girl. Daryl looked back at (Y/N), who was talking to another girl with a smile on her face.

“Yeah, it was” he answered.

Merle didn’t seem to be paying attention to him though, so he sat down and waited for his brother to decide it was time to go back home.

The time didn’t come for another hour, and by then they were almost the last costumers on the club. Merle walked towards the entrance with a satisfied smile on his face, Daryl walking behind him until he felt a hand on his arm. He looked behind and saw (Y/N) looking up at him with a nervous smile on her face.

“Don’t be a stranger, Daryl” she said, her hand trailing down towards his, where she put a small paper on his hand. He gave her a small nod and she walked back to the bar and began to clean up.

He walked out of the strip club with a small smile on his face. Merle was already on the truck waiting for him with his shit eating grin back in place.

“Didn’t I tell ya you’d have fun?” Merle said and Daryl grunted, looking down at the little paper on his hand, “you can always trust good ol’ Merle”

“Yeah” he answered absentmindedly as he opened the paper to see (Y/N) had written down a phone number. He smiled and saved it in the pocket of his jeans, not wanting Merle to see what he had. If Merle saw it he’d never let it go and Daryl wasn’t about to give his brother more ammunition to be a jerk.

As Daryl laid down on his bed that night he thought back to her and everything that had happened since he first laid eyes on her. He considered throwing the paper to the trash, thinking he wasn’t good enough for someone as pretty and smart as she was. He put that thought away to the back of his mind though, resolving that if she gave him her number it was for a reason.

He wouldn’t disappoint her.

 


End file.
